ED unearths Rs 400-crore cyber fraud network in Goa 'digital arrest' probe; 2 arrested

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested two individuals under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of an investigation stemming from a "digital arrest" scam in Goa. The agency stated that the probe revealed a pan-India organised network of cyber fraudsters whose accounts are linked to over 163 FIRs across 20 states and Union Territories, involving total reported losses of more than Rs 400 crore. 

The arrested individuals are identified as Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed. They were taken into custody on Sunday and presented before a Goa court on Monday.

The investigation originates from an FIR registered at the cyber-crime police station in Goa last year. In that case, a local woman was allegedly coerced into transferring Rs 2.6 crore between May 21, 2025, and June 2, 2025, into accounts falsely described to her as "secret supervision accounts.” 

According to the ED, scammers used an organised system to turn stolen money into cash and foreign currency. They first received the fraud money as bank transfers, withdrew it as cash, and then converted it into foreign currency. For this purpose, companies holding licences of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were used as full-fledged money changers.

Investigators stated that the companies involved were registered under the names of individuals from modest backgrounds including low-wage employees, drivers, and residents of single-room tenements who served as nominal directors. However, actual control over the bank accounts and company operations remained with the primary orchestrators of the racket, as per the media report. 

Investigators detailed that the victim’s money was routed within hours through a first layer of dormant and newly opened accounts, then split across more than 400 beneficiary accounts. This trail led to an interconnected network of commodity, trading, travel, and forex entities that together conducted banking transactions exceeding Rs 27,850 crore and deposited approximately Rs 2,904 crore in cash including Rs 584.70 crore through 61,448 bulk note acceptance machine transactions across multiple locations, according to media reports. 

The agency confirmed that accounts belonging to these entities are tied to 330 victim complaints and 163 FIRs across 20 states and Union Territories, reflecting a total reported loss of Rs 417.49 crore. In 101 of those complaints, money from a single victim was funneled into two or more entities within the same network.

As part of the investigation, the agency carried out searches under Section 17 of the PMLA across more than 20 premises in Mumbai and Goa on July 17 and August 21. Officers seized Rs 3.25 crore in cash along with digital devices, financial records, and statutory registers, which are currently undergoing forensic examination.